6 Communities to Explore

Columbus

This full-service town offers whatever you might need or want during your Yellowstone adventure—shopping, fine dining and lodging. There's even a golf course and airport. Stop in at The New Atlas Bar on Main Street, which opened in 1916 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Taxidermy fills the walls, most notably the two-headed calf, and each mount has its own backstory.

Red Lodge

This skiing and ranching community sits in the shadow of 28 12,000-foot peaks and it marks the beginning of the famously scenic Beartooth Highway. Red Lodge is also legendary (and may even be Montana’s most haunted town). Buffalo Bill Cody and Calamity Jane were both known to have stayed at The Pollard Hotel in Red Lodge, where hotel guests in1897 also witnessed the Sundance Kid rob the bank across the street.

Livingston

Livingston is an arts mecca, with many artists, writers, and celebrities living in the area. The downtown area has 15+ art galleries, and history lovers enjoy the Yellowstone Gateway Museum. Don’t miss the Murray Hotel, Anthony Bourdain’s “favorite hotel on the planet,” featuring one of Montana's premiere restaurants. The Murray Bar is the perfect place to experience Livingston’s nightlife.

Gardiner

This base-camp community in the stunning Paradise Valley is surrounded on all sides by 10 million acres of public lands, so you can set out in any direction and find adventure. Gardiner is “Nature’s Favorite Entrance to Yellowstone National Park” and will get you in via the iconic Roosevelt Arch in any season, offering the only wintertime personal-vehicle entrance. From there, drive through the wildlife-laden Lamar Valley.

COOKE CITY-SILVER GATE

Welcome to the end of the road! To clarify, that only applies in winter. But don’t let that dissuade you from the experience; there’s much fun to be had here in “the middle of nowhere.” These tiny, twin outposts offer incredible snowmobiling. You’ll find colossal, world-class sled terrain here, with miles of epic backcountry making for a snowmobiler’s dream. Don’t miss the Stop the Car Trading Post in Silver Gate and be sure to sample the pastries at the Bearclaw Bakery in Cooke City.

Three Forks

Located at the historically significant site where the Madison, Gallatin and Jefferson rivers converge to form the Missouri River is the aptly named town of Three Forks. You’ll also find Missouri Headwaters State Park here, where you can trace the footsteps of Lewis and Clark. At Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park, explore one of the most highly-decorated limestone caverns in the Northwest.